Experimental Investigation of Clay and Nano-Clay Montmorillonite Effect on Scour Reduction at Downstream of Screen

In this study, a non-structural and eco-friendly solution has been used to reduce scouring at downstream of screens. The upstream of screen which are known as stilling basin, are protected against scouring but the downstream of screens always are subjected to the flow scouring. Since clay and nanostructured-clay has suitable compatibility with river system and ecology as a view of the environment, the bed sediment at the downstream of the screen have been admixed with clay and nanostructured-clay, after grouting its effect on scour reduction have been evaluated in the three different flow. The experimental results indicate the positive effect of clay and nanoclay on scour depth reduction at the downstream of screens. The best performance has been occurred for clay and nano-montmorillonite clay mixture. The positive effect of clay and nano-montmorillonite clay mixture for scour length reduction is observable, and by utilizing this mixture, the length of scouring has been decreased 33 percent. Furthermore by addition of clay and nano-montmorillonite clay mixture, the scour depth reduced up to 39 and 46 percent. According to the result, utilizing clay and nano-montmorillonite clay mixture has a positive effect on scouring control, and as a practical view, it could be very useful for some cases such as rivers which bed protection by some materials such as concrete is not possible.